Metro Olympic Duathlon

When I signed up for the Metro Tri, I was planning for it to be my first olympic tri of the season and using it as a baseline for my next tri on the same course in June. Last Friday night we got an email from the race director letting us know that we were now going to be racing a duathlon. After multiple testing, the water at Almaden Lake was not safe to swim in. It's usually kind of nasty anyway but I really wanted another open water swim. I got over the disappointment fairly quickly!

Who knew that such a tranquil body of water would have nasty bacteria festering in it :)........well most of us locals think it always does!

One of the best things about a local race is we just rode our bike down. The park is only about 4 miles away.

One of the other great things is meeting up with friends. This is Joe with Dave and me. He is signed up for IMAZ too so we'll be doing a few races together this year.

Two of my Wednesday Women Cycling group raced too. Siobhan and Amy also did the olympic. This was Siobhan's first tri/du and she did great despite spending about 30 min with bike issues on the course. At one point, she said she had a police escort :) Amy got 2nd in her AG and 7th woman overall. There was a lot of competition and she rocked it! 

My niece Molly had a great race, 4th in her AG and she was looking pretty fast in her new Training Peaks race kit she gets to race in this year as one of their ambassadors.

My partner in crime, Dave! 

My sister, Evelyne came out early and spent the morning taking lots of pictures. 

Now for the race itself:

A week ago we had rain and hail, yesterday it was 92 degrees. With no chance to train in the heat, I was glad this was only an olympic distance race. The race organizers changed the 1500 meter swim to a 1500 meter run. I was in the last wave to start, all women 40 and over and relay runners. One problem with aging is most races let us go off last and it's annoying!

1st run: 1500 meters in 8:50 which was a 9:08 pace. I was surprised with that speed because I intentionally held back and I was in the last group to come in.

T-1: 1:29

Bike: 40K in 1:28:47 which was a 16.2 mph average. My goal for the bike was to stay in aero as much as possible, keep a steady cadence, push a little more than usual (trust that the legs would be ready for the run) and ride the course like I knew it. All successfully completed! I ride this course all the time so I knew where to conserve and where to push. Fun ride!

T-2: 1:34

2nd run: 10K in 1:01:34 which was a 9:50 pace. I thought I was going slower so I was pretty happy with my time. By the time I started the run, it was hot! Before the race, my only goal for the run was to just try to run well :) As I started I added more goals. It gave me something to do! I decided I wanted to run the whole time and I wanted to pass someone (anyone!). I got into a steady, little pace that I felt I could maintain. The heat was getting to me and I told myself I couldn't take a walk break until everyone I knew (this was an out and back run course) passed me or I passed them. I have to play these little mind games to keep me busy :) By the time everyone passed I told myself to buck up and just keep running. I did and I even passed a few people!

Overall time: 2:42:05, 6/8 in AG, 69/91 of women, 323/365 overall

Even without the swim, this gives me a good base for future training and races.

Tomorrow, IMAZ training officially begins. Woohoo!

Tierra Bella 2012 & Long Run Sunday

I meant to write about last weekend, last weekend.....and then I didn't!

I rode the Tierra Bella 100K ride. This was my 3rd Tierra Bella. The first year I rode the 60K route, last year I rode the 100K route (by myself when Dave broke his bike a few miles in) and this year I rode the whole route with Dave. Much more fun!

The great part about this year was the climb was not nearly as hard as it was last year. I think I've made some good progress. The only bad part of the ride was as we were going down the descent, a woman crashed right in front of Dave. Her husband and I were right behind and had to brake hard to not run into her and her bike. We waited with them for about 20 minutes until we made sure their bikes would get on a SAG vehicle and the ambulance was on it's way up the hill. She, I'm sure, had a concussion (her helmet was cracked front to back in 3 different places) and probably broke/messed up her shoulder as well as lots of road rash. It was a little scary. I took the rest of the downhill pretty slowly :(

Sunday, I went out for my long run. I decided 13 miles on tired legs did not feel very good. I got it done but my scheduled massage Sunday afternoon felt really good even though it hurt like crazy!

March Numbers

After the Surf City marathon in early February I took a week to recover and then I put together kind of a loose plan to follow until my official Ironman training starts the last week of April. Starting with a  good solid base would make me feel a lot more confident about starting my 'big' training. I tried to schedule in 3 swims, 3 bikes and 3 runs a week. Each workout had a different emphasis and I added in some core/strength training.

Here are my numbers for March:
Swim: 39,950 yards
Bike: 375.14 miles
Run: 56.65 miles

March was a fun month because I didn't have any upcoming big races and I didn't feel any pressure to be 'ready' for anything. Training was just fun!

I had a big swim number (for me) because along with rededicating myself to swimming 3 times a week, I also took a weekly swim technique lesson. My speed hasn't increased dramatically but my technique and comfort level is so much better. I had decent bike miles getting a long ride in on the weekends with Dave and I was able to get in most of my Wednesday rides with my Wednesday Women group. My run miles were not too big but they were quality miles :) I think I made a great run breakthrough this month both in gaining some speed and starting to actually feel like a runner now and then.

Overall a good solid month. I'm looking forward to 3 more weeks of base training and then Ironman training begins!!!

Cinderella Classic 100K

Yesterday, I rode the Cinderella Classic 100K bike ride. This is the second year I've participated in this all women's ride put on by Valley Spokesmen Bicycle Club. This ride is very organized with 3 fully stocked rest stops and an incredible amount of volunteers. The ride goes through the towns of Pleasanton, Livermore, San Ramon, Danville and maybe others. We get to ride through beautiful country roads, nice neighborhoods and the parts through town had big bike lanes :)

Last year, we were a little warm by the end of the ride. This year, not so much. The forecast was for heavy rains and gusty winds. I kept checking the hour by hour forecast leading up to Saturday and there was a 90% chance of rain from start time. Saturday morning it changed to 30% until 11:00 and then 90% so I figured we'd at least get most of the ride in before getting soaked. Wrong! I went to this ride with 2 of my friends and as soon as we got out of the truck the winds were gusty and cold. We checked in and got ready to head out. There was talk of quite a few riders deciding not to ride at all due to the weather. 

About 45 min. into the ride, the rain started and the wind picked up. It was a downpour! We got to the first stop and we were already wet and cold. I had invested in a bike rain jacket and it was earning its keep. My upper body stayed dry. I had wrapped my helmet in a shower cap so my head retained heat and stayed dry too. The lower half of my body was soaked. Between the first and second stop, the rain and wind did not stop. There were parts of the ride that really were pretty dangerous and I was surprised I didn't see any wrecks. I'm usually a conservative downhill rider but it was hard to slow down on some of the downhills that had water streaming across the roads. I would just try to keep breathing and would say a prayer!

At the second stop, about 30 miles in, my friends decided to put their names on the list to be SAG'ed (driven) back to the start line. They both were shaking and freezing cold and they didn't feel like they could safely continue. The list was long and I knew it would take a while to get to their names so I decided I could ride the additional 35 miles and get back without having them wait too long for me. There were a lot less riders on the course by that time. I hear they SAG'ed over 300 riders back to the start line. Kudos to all the volunteers. They were amazing! As I was riding I decided to keep a rider in sight so I wouldn't have to think about the route too much. About 20 miles in I caught up to a group that knew exactly where they were going and led through all the turns to the end. 

Overall it was a huge challenge for me to ride in that weather. I don't think I would plan a training ride like that! Now I know if a race comes up and this kind of weather is predicted, I can do it. 

It was one of those weeks!

Since my duathlon was a sprint, it was nice that recovery time was minimal. Monday morning it was back to training. Then the rain started. We had predictions of a huge storm front coming through the bay area and it turned out to be a 'hit and miss' type of front. Some areas were blasted with rain and some areas just had drizzle. Around my house, it was mostly drizzle which was enough to close the parks to horses so they had a little vacation time.

I made a list of rainy day projects I had been saving for our long awaited winter and worked on checking them off. I painted some plant sticks for my new herb garden. The garden is growing great. Now I just have to remember to use the herbs!

I made a little flower arrangement just for fun. The flowers look exactly the same a week later.

The week was spent on projects during the day and my normally quiet evenings were spent going to meetings or appointments every night!

Then Saturday, Dave and I went on a training ride with my niece Molly, her husband Jeff and my nephew, Robert. It was pretty cold and there was a 30% chance of rain but the weather forecasters had been off all week so we felt pretty safe going out. About 20 minutes into the ride, I flatted so we told the others to go ahead since I had Dave with me. I think I fixed my tire in record time so it was nice to start getting the hang of it.

Off we went and about 10 minutes later, the rain started. Then the wind picked up. Then the rain started getting heavier. About an hour into the ride, we decided this wasn't fun anymore and we turned around. By the time we got home, we were soaking wet and freezing. I think it took us both a couple of hours to thaw out. I'm not sure why we were wearing glasses, we couldn't see out of them!

We spent a quiet Saturday evening at home and then we got a call from my Mom that my brother in law was headed to the hospital with chest pains. Off to the hospital we went and hung out there for a while until he was settled for the night. Monday morning he was transferred to another hospital for an angiogram and he had to have a stent put in. Overall a really good outcome and he'll make a full recovery. 

Sunday night was our church's, St Timothy's, 50th anniversary dinner. It was a great evening and fun to learn more about the church's history.

Tuesday, I finally was able to go out for a horse ride. My friend Pat was celebrating her birthday and we had a round of root beer floats, her favorite.

We enjoyed a beautiful ride with sunny skies. I took my old man, Rio out and he had liked the new scenery. The ride was pretty flat and he was able to make ugly faces to the younger horses so his day was complete.

My friend Erin took this picture and made it artsy. iPhone apps are fun :)

This week it's back to a normal schedule. Good work outs lined up and my routine is back to the way it should be. That might all change. I have a job interview and if I get the job it's going to be a shock to my system! I don't know if I'll be happy or be wearing my cranky pants. We'll see.

South Bay Sprint Duathlon Race Report

When Dave and I signed up for this race, I looked at it as a fun, short, local race we could do so I could work on some specific things. With my first Ironman at the end of the year, I feel like this is the time to really get serious about this race business. Ok, not really totally serious because I'm all about having fun :) I guess for me I feel it's more time to work on some of the things that always nag at me after a race.

I made 3 goals for myself:

1) I'm a very conservative racer. I always want to make sure I have enough in reserve to finish a race so I feel like I hold back. Then the race is over and I'm a little disappointed in myself for feeling so good.
Goal-I want to feel trashed!

2) I had aero bars put on my bike last Fall and I love them but I haven't had many chances to use them in a race.
Goal- Stay in aero as much as possible.

3) My run pace is not always consistent in a race. I like to take walk breaks when I really don't need to and I like to talk myself into slowing down when I really don't need to.
Goal-maintain race pace.

This Du was a 2 mile run, 10 mile bike and 2 mile run. The run course was flat and the bike course was 2 loops, relatively flat and had one short but decent hill.

1st Run-started out at my pace and just paid attention to ME. I was able to stay consistent and it paid off because I passed people that had gone out too fast and were slowing down. I felt great going into T-1. Time-19:57. A 9:17 min/mile average.

Bike-I stayed in aero most of the time. I just came up for some of the turns but I felt really comfortable. My speed was ok, faster than normal and I think I could of pushed just a little more but overall I was happy. Time-37:39. A 15.8 mph average.

2nd Run-I made sure I didn't go out too fast with my warmed up legs and then settled into a good pace. I knew I was going faster than the first run and I felt like I could maintain it. I actually was passing people which is not normal for me :) I have to say, it felt pretty good. Time:19:07. A 8:51 min/mile average for this leg. Negative split! This was the first time I've ever been in the 8's for a race. Actually, it might of been the first time I've been in the 9's too!

I finished in 1:19:32, 7/14 in my AG. MOP is wonderful since I'm usually more of a BOP racer. No walking, consistent pace, stayed in aero and felt fairly trashed at the finish. Overall, one of my best races for settings goals and meeting them. So fun!

The best part was racing with family and friends. I can't figure out why more people don't do this stuff, it's so much fun!

Cindy (racing her first Du!), Mike (AG winner!), Dave and me.

Molly (AG winner!), Mary and me.

Now it's back to training and taking one day at a time.

Have a great week!

Johanne

Scenes from a mild Nor Cal winter.

I'm trying to hurry up and get this post out before our mild Nor Cal winter is over for a few days. We are expecting some decent rain tomorrow and then I would have to change all my pictures!

This had been the mildest winter we've had in many years and I've been taking full advantage of it. 

One of my favorite trail runs in Quicksilver Park.

I was out for my long bike ride and I huffed and puffed to the top of a hill climb to find a couple of deer munching away.

Along my bike route I get so see some beautiful green fields.

Sadly, our lack of water makes Uvas Reservoir look low and really nasty. They are going to have to fill it again for some upcoming races.

Happy red cow along my bike route with a little black baby.

More happy California cows :)

We had one ominous morning when I was on my way to the barn but then the sun warmed us up later.

The mustard is growing just fine. I love how bright yellow it gets.

The best scenery-Dave!

My Wednesday ride girls. Great workout partners.

Of course, with all this dry weather, there have been quite a few horse rides.

Another day, another ride.

Far off to the left, we were able to see San Francisco. It was a beautiful clear day.

Buddy doesn't miss an opportunity to catch some rays.

The temps have dropped and some much needed rain is coming tomorrow. I might have to plan some alternatives for my bike workouts this week!